Pennywise
USA, 1988–now
Hermosa Beach band formed in 1988 by four surfing schoolfriends who quit their other groups to do it. Fast, melodic South Bay punk with a shouted-along chorus; 'Bro Hymn' was rewritten as an elegy for bassist Jason Thirsk after his death in 1996 and is still what the crowd comes for.
MusicRoots documents 3 artists who influenced Pennywise and 1 artist Pennywise influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.
Who influenced Pennywise?
- Black Flag — Hermosa Beach hardcore, from the town Black Flag came out of. Dragge names Greg Ginn as an inspiration on the guitar.
- Minor Threat — The other guitarist Dragge names — the fast, clipped downstroke that the whole South Bay sound is built on.
- Bad Religion — The melodic half, and the local one — Epitaph was Brett Gurewitz's label and Pennywise's home.
Which artists did Pennywise influence?
- Sum 41 — Whibley dates the band to the Warped Tour in the summer of 1996, where NOFX and Pennywise are what sent him home wanting to start one.